This top award is given to select Members of Congress who have gone above and beyond in championing access to primary care and strengthening America’s Health Centers. Kim Sibilsky, MPCA’s Chief Executive Officer, presented the award to Senator Stabenow during a tour of the Center for Family Health in Jackson, one of Michigan’s 40 Health Center organizations represented by MPCA.

“We are tremendously grateful for Senator Stabenow’s long-time commitment to increasing access to primary care in Michigan and across the country. Her leadership exemplifies the value she places on Health Centers as critical sources of local care for so many who might otherwise go without care, and that is keeping people healthy and out of the emergency room, supporting local jobs, and saving the state and nation money,” said Sibilsky.

The doors of Health Centers are open to everyone, regardless of insurance status or income level. Teams of health care professionals provide medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy services. Health Centers also provide services that help individuals and families overcome common barriers to accessing care, such as transportation, translation, and insurance enrollment assistance.

Today, Health Centers are health care homes for 23 million people nationwide, including more than 600,000 Michigan residents.

“As we look to 2015, Health Centers face a potential reduction in the federal support they receive that is critical to ensuring their current patients have access to care, and that they are able to expand care for the millions more who still lack access to a primary care provider. We are thankful that Senator Stabenow is leading the bi-partisan effort to ensure Congress continues its investment of the Health Center program, which has a 50-year history of improving health, saving lives, and reducing health care costs,” said Sibilsky.

Michigan Primary Care Association is the voice for Health Centers and other community-based providers in Michigan. Its mission is to promote, support, and develop comprehensive, accessible, and affordable community-based health care services to everyone in Michigan.

Founded in 1970, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance and expand access to quality, community-responsive health care for America’s medically underserved and uninsured. NACHC represents the nation’s network of over 1,300 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) which serve over 23 million people through over 9,000 sites located in all of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam.